phew, I’m tired; had to run around all over the place today, including taking the PATH train over to Hoboken to retrieve my credit card, which I had managed to leave in the CD store TUNES on Washington Street when I was there on Saturday. I don’t feel as if it has been an especially music-packed few days; nevertheless I have some purchases to report:
Last week, I forgot to report Africa Funk – I managed to pick up this great compilation used in my favorite store, Academy. It’s very cool, even though the tracks are longer and more repetitve than a lot of the stuff I listen to. It is a collection of funky stuff which came out of Africa in the years following James Brown‘s breakthrough. It is irresistably funky.
In Tunes in Hoboken, I picked up some nice used CDs:
- Cool Hand Luke (soundtrack) – Lalo Schifrin
This is quite cool, although not utterly brilliant from start to finish like some of his stuff is. Sounds like there are some quite groovy tracks though… - Stack o Tracks/Beach Boys Party – Beach Boys
This one is really interesting. ‘Beach Boys Party’ is literally a live session the band recorded in a studio, apparently with lots of friends and lots of beer. They do some interesting cover versions, and it’s surprisingly listenable. ‘Stack o Tracks’ is a selection of backing tracks (no vocals) to some of the band’s best songs, including ‘God only knows’, ‘Surfer Girl’ etc. Although I wish I could have chosen the tracks myself, (there are certain tracks by the band I really love) it’s a great thing to own, and I’m sure I’ll be doing karaoke versions at home before too long. - The facts of life – Black Box Recorder
I bought this new for esther. It’s actually pretty good – the singer talks a lot as well as singing, which sounds quite cool, and the lyrics are very entertaining. They sometimes end up sounding a little bit like the group Garbage‘s better moments. - Mwng – Super Furry Animals
Finally found a cheap copy of SFA’s latest album. It’s lavishly packaged and entirely welsh. Sounds pretty good, but as with most of their stuff, I will need to give it time. - hmm, I’m sure there was something else. Ah yeah, ‘Songs from the soil’ – Ramsey Lewis
I’ve been getting very into Ramsey Lewis recently. I had the impression that he was a hack, but that seems to have been misguided. This set from 1959 is excellent, and nicely complements the funky late 60s stuff by him I have on vinyl. - I’m pretty sure that’s it.
I also picked up a couple of things very cheaply at Norman’s on 4th Avenue at 7th St – Bossa Nova by the Pixies (for me) and Blur by Blur (for esther).
Really enjoyed hearing the Mojo club vol 7 compilation last night. More souley than anything I would end up buying on vinyl, but pretty cool nevertheless.